Dmitry Medvedev surprises Russia with attack on 'humiliating' economy

President Dmitry Medvedev took Russians by surprise when he admitted that genuine political freedom in the country was limited and suggested that there had been mistakes made during the reign of his all-powerful predecessor Vladimir Putin.

President Dmitry Medvedev has sought to confound critics who say he is a puppet controlled by Vladimir Putin, insisting he might run for the Russian presidency again in 2012Photo: EPA

By Andrew Osborn in Moscow

4:00AM BST 11 Sep 2009

In an article pointedly published on a liberal news wesite, Mr Medvedev portrayed the country's economy in a bleak light, decried Russia's "humiliating" dependence on oil and gas exports, and conceded that the global downturn had exposed serious structural problems in Russia's battered economy.

He also detailed a list of social and political ills in unusually blunt terms.

Analysts said the article was one of Mr Medvedev's boldest attempts yet to step out of Mr Putin's shadow in order to counter criticism that he is the prime minister's puppet.

Others believed the article was a bid to reassure supporters that Mr Medvedev has not forgotten about his self-proclaimed liberal credentials even though he has spent the last few months revelling in hawkish and harsh criticism of neighbouring Georgia and Ukraine.

"In recent months, he [Medvedev] has been more Putin than Putin," said Sam Greene of the Carnegie Centre in Moscow. "This may be an attempt to reassure liberals."

Since he took office in May last year Mr Medvedev, Mr Putin's handpicked successor, has struggled to dispel the notion that he's a temporary fixture whose job is to keep the Kremlin seat warm for Mr Putin to return in 2012.

Opinion polls and experts both say that Mr Putin remains the most powerful politician in Russia despite having to step down after two terms as president under the constitution.

Mr Medvedev's presidency has so far been dominated by war with Georgia and the economic crisis, unlike Mr Putin's Kremlin's stint which was defined by an oil-fuelled boom.

But the article yesterday showed Mr Medvedev still harbours ambitions of enacting a grand reform plan.

If his 4,000-word treatise is anything to go by, it could take some time. He called the economy "primitive," spoke of "chronic" corruption, complained of his countrymens' Soviet-era lack of initiative, and slated widespread alcoholism, thievery, bribe-taking and intellectual and spiritual sloth.

While saying that Russia would not copy Western-style democracy "mechanically", he laid out a vision of a multi-party system and said Russia wanted and needed good relations with the West.

In an emotional finale, he wrote of influential groups of corrupt officials and businessmen who would try to frustrate his reforms.

He disappointed those hoping for swift change, however, stressing change would be gradual and there would be no "permanent revolution."

Alexei Makarkin, a political expert at the Centre of Political Technologies, said Mr Medvedev was trying to formulate a programme in order to secure his own political future.

"Medvedev wants to project his independence and his identity," he said. "He wants to show that he's not just a temporary figure."

Most of the hundreds of reader comments on site gazeta.ru were sceptical though. "Too late Mr President," read one. "Nobody believes you anymore."